Jeff Savage, Senator Pan and Domestic Violence Awareness Month Proclaimed

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - At the October 19, 2022 West Sacramento City Council meeting three Proclamations were awarded.

The first Proclamation was awarded to Jeff Savage of the Sacramento River Cats, with the following background:

“In 1998, the Savage family purchased a minor league baseball franchise with a vision to move the team from Vancouver to West Sacramento. In 2000, that vision became a reality as the Savages successfully partnered with the City, as well as, Yolo and Sacramento Counties to finance and construct Sutter Health Park (then Raley Field) in the City’s Bridge District. On this site, the Sacramento River Cats have taken the field for the past two decades. Sutter Health Park served as a catalyst for further development in the Bridge District and has helped the City realize its vision of an active and vibrant riverfront. Over the years, thousands of fans have enjoyed great baseball, a family-friendly atmosphere, and fantastic views of the West Sacramento-Sacramento skyline from the park’s friendly confines.

“Mr. Savage served the River Cats in a management capacity for many years as President and Chief Operating Officer, most recently taking over as Chief Executive Officer. In addition to success on the field, the River Cats have been a strong community partner and, through the River Cats Foundation, distributed millions of dollars in donations to worthy charitable groups. Mr. Savage has been an invaluable partner to the City throughout his tenure, working with staff across departments on issues ranging from baseball games to concerts, charity events, and more. With the recent purchase of the River Cats by the Sacramento Kings, Mr. Savage announced his intent to step away from the organization and pursue new ventures. This proclamation is to recognize his service and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

The second award was presented to Senator Richard Pan. The following background was provided in the Council’s agenda for reason of the award:

“Dr. Richard Pan is a pediatrician, former UC Davis educator, and community leader who was first elected to the State Assembly in 2010. Subsequently elected to the 6th State Senate District in 2014, Dr. Pan has represented the people of West Sacramento for the last eight years. During that time, Dr. Pan emerged as a leader in public health and healthcare policy and has received accolades for his work as Chair of the Senate Committee on Health. He also serves as Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs and the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

Throughout his years in the Legislature, Dr. Pan has been a staunch ally of local governments, providing resources during the COVID-19 pandemic and partnering with police and fire departments throughout the region to support public safety. His commitment to the community does not stop with his official duties, as Dr. Pan has contributed a great deal of his personal volunteer time to important causes such as founding Healthy Kids Healthy Future, which provides health, dental, and vision coverage for over 65,000 children in the greater Sacramento area.

“Dr. Pan’s representation of West Sacramento has benefited the city greatly. For instance, in 2021 he partnered with Assemblymember Kevin McCarty to secure $1.5 million in funding through the state budget to make improvements as part of the Master Plan for Bryte Park.

“Most recently, Dr. Pan secured passage and enactment of the City/WSAFCA-sponsored Senate Bill (SB) 901. This bill will provide planning certainty for the citywide flood protection project by updating its state authorization and confirming the state’s participation in construction. The legislation also allows the state to consider dissolving Maintenance Area 4 in the northern part of the City and consolidating its services with Reclamation District 900. Finally, the bill extends the deadline to achieve the required 200-year level of flood protection from 2025 to 2030.

“Dr. Pan will reach his term limit in the State Senate at the end of this calendar year and will leave the Legislature with a long list of accomplishments.”

The third Proclamation was recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The background is as follows:

“In 2021 there were 164,608 domestic violence related calls for assistance in California. Domestic violence is the third leading cause of homelessness among families in the United States and one in four women and one in seven men have been victims of severe physical violence (e.g., beating, burning, strangling) by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

“Domestic violence affects people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, and racial, ethnic, cultural, social, religious, and economic groups in the United States. The marginalization of certain groups in society, including undocumented individuals, transgender individuals, and people living with disabilities, increases their vulnerability to domestic violence. Children exposed to domestic violence can experience long-term consequences, including difficulty at school, substance abuse, behavioral problems in adolescence and serious adult health problems.

“Recognizing the need is imperative to understanding the complexity of violence perpetuated within communities and against communities and the fear of many survivors to report domestic violence to law enforcement. Locally, Empower Yolo has a mission to promote safe, healthy and resilient communities by providing twenty-four-hour crisis intervention, emergency shelter, confidential counseling, training, legal assistance, and other services for individuals and families affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking and child abuse.

“Empower Yolo has a 24-hour emergency shelter for adults and children escaping domestic violence, which offers safe refuge, a comprehensive empowerment program, therapeutic services and case management to the residents as well as provides transitional housing to help qualified individuals with short term assistance to escape violence in their lives.”

For more information or to view the agenda items of the October 19 meeting, visit the City of West Sacramento website.